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Photo Gallery: 20 Day Campesino March for Agrarian Rights

Farmers and peasants from Barinas, Portuguesa and Zulia began a 20 day march last month, walking over 400 kilometers in precarious conditions to bring their demands for renewed agrarian policies directly to President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas.
Campesinos prepare for departure from the state of Portuguesa.
Campesinos prepare for departure from the state of Portuguesa.

On July 11,  small farmers and peasants gathered in Guanare, Portuguesa state, for the departure of the denominated Admirable Campesino March (name which makes reference to the Admirable Campaign lead by Simón Bolivar and a largely peasant army, definitive for the independence of Venezuela).   The participants of the march pushed through 20 days and 435 kilometers with little logistical support to bring their proposals and demands for the renovation of an agrarian policy coherent with the principles of the Bolivarian Revolution and in favor of the rights of communal and small farmers. 

Despite the support, solidarity and accompaniment of social movements and revolutionary political parties, upon arriving in Caracas on August 1, the marchers were blocked from their final destination by police barricades.  Later in the afternoon, a delegation of campesino leaders from the march met with National Constituent Assembly President Diosdado Cabello to present their proposals.

After an intense media campaign on social media,  a meeting was scheduled with President Maduro in the afternoon of August 2. 

Organizers of the march have planned to gather with the diverse social movements and parties that have expressed solidarity with their cause in hopes of initiating a broader campaign in favor of economic recuperation and a deepening of the revolutionary process.